Discipleship Circles

As we head into winter in Iowa, with rising numbers of COVID-19 cases across the state, guidance from doctors and health departments indicate that we can play our part by gathering in groups of five or less to help stop the spread. In addition to the 4-5 that may be meeting at church to stream worship on Sundays, we invite you to consider forming Discipleship Circles within your church to support greater connection and invite new people into your worshiping community, to deepen and support the prayer practices of your members, to offer an opportunity for members to regularly receive communion, and to study God’s Word together.

What are Discipleship Circles?

Discipleship Circles are groups of 4-5 people who meet together regularly for a set amount of time (i.e. 8-12 weeks) for connection, prayer, worship, and study.

Meeting locations: groups can choose to meet by Zoom, by phone (using a service like freeconferencecall.com), in-person in a location like a large meeting room at church or the sanctuary, or outside on a patio or in a park if weather permits. All groups meeting in person must wear masks, physically distance, and follow the guidance in Abounding in Hope.
Meeting times: You might decide to offer the opportunity to meet in circles after worship on Sunday mornings, using the breakout room feature in Zoom. Other groups might decide to meet during the week by scheduling to use the church building or arranging a meeting time online using Zoom or Facebook group video.
Meeting structure: In general, we suggest a structure of reflection on scripture, sharing, and prayer. See the RESOURCE section for ideas.
Eucharist: Bishop Scarfe encourages the blessing of enough bread at the Sunday worship that Discipleship Circles who would like to have Eucharist in-person together can arrange for a member to pick up a communion kit (or have it delivered) and use the liturgy of Eucharist under extraordinary circumstances.

Why Circles?

As this pandemic continues, and as the weather turns colder in Iowa, we want to make sure that our congregations have ways to safely engage and support each other. We also need to provide points of entry to new friendships for guests and visitors as well as long time members, and encourage spiritual growth and service during this time. We recognize that the longer this goes on, people who are on the margins of our congregations may drift away and our most active people continue to long for renewed relationships with dear friends.

The Discipleship Circles give us at least one way of meeting those needs in this time and is an extension of the small-group ministries that have often been a part of church life. They are limited in size, especially for in person gatherings, so as to meet people’s needs for gathering while also limiting the size and spread of outbreaks.